RULES for all other categories: Vals, Milonga and “Jack & Jill Tango"
“VALS” – open to both amateur and professional dancers. No residence restrictions.
“MILONGA” – open to both amateur and professional dancers. No residence restrictions.
"JACK & JILL TANGO" – open to social dancers (amateurs). No professionals allowed. No residence restrictions.
General Rules
Registration
Contestants must be at least 18 years old by the date of the competition.
Contestants may participate in different categories with the same or a different partner. However, no contestant may participate more than once in the same category, regardless of whether they do so with a different partner.
Contestants must always behave correctly and respect the judges, championship directors/coordinators, choreographers and other participants.
OTCC will be entitled to eliminate from the competition those participants that:
a) Do not comply with the rules
b) Commit any moral offense or improper act that tarnishes the image of the Championship or may cause displeasure in the public.
All competition rounds will be open to spectators.
Competitors’ registration and subsequent check‐in implies knowledge and acceptance of the General Rules, the Specific Championship Rules and the Evaluation criteria per category
All participants must confirm their registration at the time of accreditation. In order to check in, all contestants must attend on the date and time specified by OTCC with their passport (original copy). Accreditation can be done by one of the members of the couple bringing both documents. At this time, they will receive the order number and will be informed of the approximate performance times for each category.
Those who do not check in will not be able to participate in the championship. A delay will only be considered in duly proven cases of force majeure, except in the event of circumstances of public knowledge.
All championship contestants commit themselves to participate in various ceremonies and events planned by OTCC —such as press conferences, interviews for radio stations and over‐the‐air or cable television channels, demos, etc.—if they are summoned for such purpose.
A registration cannot be shared and is not transferable.
Registrations for the Non-Official categories close on 31 March 2024.
Competition VS Workshops / Private classes: competitors participating in the Vals, Milonga, or the “Jack & Jill" Tango” categories - which are not official, - may register to all (or any) of the festival workshops and take private classes with all festival maestros,- including the maestros who are judges.
(Clarification: Competitors participating in the official categories of Tango de Pista and Stage Tango will not be able to participate in seminars, workshops and/or classes taught by the maestros who are also members of the jury, as long as they remain in the competition. Therefore, in the case a competing couple is eliminated, the couple will be allowed to register onsite to classes and schedule privates lessons during the event with the maestros who are judges, as they will not be competing any longer).
Filming & Photographing
OTCC reserves the right to record all the stages of the Championship, by any means known or to be known—including but not limited to filming, recording, photographing, digitalisation, etc.—by itself or third parties, in order to promote and advertise the event. The recorded material obtained will be exclusive property of OTCC, who will have to turn a copy of it, to the Office of Festivals. By entering the Championship, participants explicitly and irrevocably authorize the use of the recorded material, without this suggesting—or implying—any compensation for any reason whatsoever by OTCC in favor of any person or organization that claims entitlement to any right that may be invoked. This clause also includes, without limitations, all photographic material published and/or made available for promotion, advertisement, etc.
A couple’s registration and subsequent check‐in implies knowledge and acceptance of these Rules by each one of the participants.
Jury
The Jury will be composed of a minimum of 4 (four) members for all categories, who—understanding and accepting the rules of the competition, and committing to their compliance—will determine the score of the participating couples. The jurers will be appointed in accordance with the Office of Festivals and Central Events and OTCC.
All the decisions of the Jury will not be subject to appeal. By enrolling, participants accept this condition. In case of distrust or disagreement, participants may submit a written statement (in Spanish or English) to OTCC and NOT directly to the panel of evaluating judges.
The final score for each performance will result from the accumulation of points, given by each member of the jury on a scale of 1 to 10 (with decimals), in accordance with the criteria described in the following section.
The Jury will choose a champion couple in each category. Also, the Jury (with the agreement of OTCC) may grant awards and special mentions to the second and third places, and will be entitled to award other mentions if deemed appropriate.
In exceptional cases (power interruption, incidents on stage, etc.), the Jury may determine that contestants should dance to additional songs to arrive at a fair verdict. Participants may not refuse to perform.
In case of a tie, the couples with the same final score will have to break the draw by dancing two additional songs.
Supervisor / Auditor
Appointed by the Office of Festivals and Central Events, the Supervisor will bear the responsibility of ensuring the compliance of the Championship rules; properly solve any inconvenience not considered in these Rules; establish or inform about the clarifying or interpretative rules that he/she considers necessary and calculate the scores using the Tango BA World Cup formula.
Prizes
| Awards | Vals | Milonga | Jack & Jill Tango |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winners | Tahiti Tango Festival 2025 Passes for 2x | Melbourne Tango Weekend 2025 Passes for 2x | Winter Tango Festival Hanmer Springs 2024 Passes for 2x |
| Free registration for the next Oceania Championship in any official category | Free registration for the next Oceania Championship in any official category | Free registration for the next Oceania Championship in any official category | |
| Certificates & Trophies | Certificates & Trophies | Certificates & Trophies | |
| 2nd Place | Medals & Certificates | Medals & Certificates | Medals & Certificates |
| Free registration for the next Oceania Championship in any official category | Free registration for the next Oceania Championship in any official category | Free registration for the next Oceania Championship in any official category | |
| 3rd Place | Medals & Certificates | Medals & Certificates | Medals & Certificates |
Specific Rules & Evaluation Criteria
These categories will be executed mainly with the close embrace. The important features of these dance styles are the musicality, improvisation, embrace and connection between partners.
Dancers of any nationality are eligible to participate in this category (no residence restrictions).
The Vals category will take place on Thursday, 11th April 2024.
There will be two competition stages:
- The Qualifying Round: All registered couples must participate. Couples will dance one qualifying round.
- The Final Round: The couples selected at the qualifying round will pass directly to the Finals and will then compete in groups, dancing (social) Vals to three pieces previously selected by the Committee.
Dance Rules
About the Position of Tango Dance:
Once a couple forms a dance frame, the partners shall not separate as long as the music is playing. This means that they cannot break the embrace, which is considered as the Tango dance position.
For the position to be considered correct, partners must constantly hold each other by means of the embrace. It is understood that, in certain figures, this may be flexible; but not throughout the entire piece of music
All movements shall be performed within the space allowed by the couple’s embrace.
Within these guidelines, participants may perform any figure commonly used and the specific Vals moves such as turns and counters turns with vals syncopation, syncopated walking, displacements, chained motions, etc.
Saltos (jumps), trepadas (climbs) and any other typically stage tango possibilities are completely excluded.
Dancers may not lift his/her legs beyond the line of the knees. Boleos and embellishments are allowed within this limit.
Couples, as in a real dance hall, must constantly move counterclockwise and avoid remaining in the same place for too long to avoid the floor circulation.
The Judges will give relevance to the fluidity in the dance, the Vals rhythm and music interpretation as essential evaluation points.
Costumes will not be considered as a specific evaluation point in this category.
Specific Rules & Evaluation Criteria for Milonga
The Milonga category is open to both amateur and professional dancers. No Residence restrictions required.
Dancers of any nationality are eligible to participate in this category (no residence restrictions).
The Milonga category will take place on Thursday, 11th April 2024.
There will be two competition stages:
- The Qualifying Round: All registered couples must participate. Couples will dance one qualifying round.
- The Final Round: the couples selected at the qualifying round will pass directly to the Finals and will then compete in groups, dancing (social) Milonga to three pieces previously selected by the Committee.
Dance Rules:
About the position of Tango Dance:
Once a couple forms a dance frame, the partners shall not separate as long as the music is playing. This means that they cannot break the embrace, which is considered as the Tango dance position.
For the position to be considered correct, partners must constantly hold each other by means of the embrace (closed embrace is advised). It is understood that, in certain figures, this may be flexible; but not throughout the entire piece of music.
All movements shall be performed within the space allowed by the couple’s embrace.
Within these guidelines, participants may perform any figure commonly used for milonga.
Ganchos (hooks), saltos (jumps), trepadas (climbs) and any other typically stage possibilities are completely excluded.
Dancers may not lift his/her legs beyond the line of the knees. Embellishments are allowed within this limit.
Couples, as in a real dance hall, must constantly move counterclockwise and avoid remaining in the same place for too long to avoid the floor circulation.
The Judges will give special relevance to the fluidity, personality, and musicality, – interpretation of the Milonga rhythm – as essential evaluation points.
Costumes will not be considered as a specific evaluation point in this category.
Specific Rules & Evaluation Criteria for Jack & Jill Tango
The “Jack & Jill” tango category is open to social (amateur) dancers only. No Residence restrictions required.
Dancers of any nationality are eligible to participate in this category.
There will be one unique round with no elimination (no semi-final or final rounds) on Thursday, 11th April 2024.
Men and women must register individually. If at the end of the registration process there are uneven number of leaders and followers, we will try to find someone to partner but 'this partner' will not be included in the judging process.
Dancing couples will be the result of a random matching of leaders and followers that will take place straight at the dance floor. They will compete in groups and dance a round of three to four songs previously selected by the Committee.
Dancers will change partners through a draw system for each of the three songs.
Dance Rules
1. Dancers cannot break the embrace. It is understood that, in certain figures, the embrace can be flexible (open and close according to the figure); but not throughout the entire piece of music.
2. Couples may perform any commonly used figures of “social” tango, including “barridas” (sweeps), “sacadas al piso” (drawn to the floor),“enrosques” (twists), “ganchos” (hooks), boleos, etc, as well as embellishments always within their own space, without standing in the way of couples dancing around them.
3. “Saltos” (jumps), “trepadas” (climbs) and any other possibilities typically used in stage tango where both feet lose contact with the floor are completely excluded.
4. Dancers may not lift his/her legs beyond the line of the knees. Embellishments are allowed within this limit.
5. It is not allowed to overtake.
6. Costumes will not be considered as a specific evaluation point in this category.
Evaluation Criteria
1. All dancers will be evaluated individually by the Jury Panel who will determine a unique winner for each role.
2. Posture, elegance, technique, connection to the partner and walking style will be the main points of evaluation for all dancers.
3. For the leader’s role, the Judges will give special relevance to musicality, improvisation and navigation (take into account that leaders should avoid more than two musical phrases on the same spot, making it difficult for the round to circulate; they should constantly move counterclockwise without going backwards although it is allowed to perform one or two back steps if the movement requires it).
4. For the follower’s role, the Judges will give special relevance to the skill of following (anticipation or back leading will be penalized), and the footwork technique.